A/N: Another drabble for the Houses Competition. Hope you enjoy!
House: Hufflepuff
Category: Drabble
Prompt: Torn out pages
Word count: 561
There's a book in the library that has more torn out pages than readable ones. Madam Pince was horrified when she found out, enraged that a book had been so mistreated, but the unknown culprit had long since left Hogwarts, and so she was left to fume helplessly.
The book in question belonged in the Restricted Section, and there was no record of it being taken out in over a century. It was incredibly dark magic, so Dumbledore had ordered it moved to his office many years before Voldemort's return and it was then that the defiling was discovered. The headmaster waved off any apologies sent his way and silently took the book, his eyes inexplicably filled with realisation and sorrow. No one dared to ask why, and so the book was forgotten, remaining in Dumbledore's office with the other dangerous works, until Snape and the Carrows decided to move them all back to the library.
It was next found years after the Battle of Hogwarts by a student doing research for a History of Magic project. They had tossed it aside in frustration when they found the torn out pages, not knowing or caring who had committed the deed. And perhaps it is better they didn't, for they wouldn't have wanted to know that that book was what began the war.
70 years ago
Tom Riddle lightly dragged his fingertips across the cracked spines of old books, idly inspecting the dust that came away on his fingers before brushing it off and turning his attention back to the shelves. He scanned the titles until he found the one he was looking for and carefully pulled it from its place, coughing slightly as he did so. He grimaced in distaste and carried it to the desk, presenting it to the librarian (whose name he had never bother to remember) along with his signed slip from Slughorn. It had been pathetically easy to trick the professor into giving him permission to take out the book, but the fool had always had a soft spot for him.
"A Defence Against the Dark Arts project, Professor," Tom had said. "Purely academic, of course, but I haven't been able to find Professor Merrythought and I do need the book now."
"I suppose if it's that urgent," Slughorn had mused, before signing his slip and bidding him good studies. Tom smiled gratefully at him before walking off, twisting his father's ring.
The book was incredibly detailed and, under any other circumstances, Tom might have wanted to read it all. After all, knowledge is power, or however the saying went. But he was on limited time, so he only skimmed the text for sections pertinent to his needs. He soon realised that he would need more time to remember the correct spell and wand movements to perform so, making sure no one was watching, he took out his wand and carefully, quietly, removed the pages he needed, tucking them into his robes once he had done so.
He returned the book to its proper place and strode back to the Slytherin common room, fingering the jagged edges of the torn out pages as he walked. A slow smile spread across his face and he allowed himself a moment to revel in the moment. Everything was falling perfectly into place.
A/N: I hope that was okay! Please leave a review if you have a moment. Bye!